


sunlight

by snowysatoru



Series: fe femslash week 2018 [3]
Category: Fire Emblem Echoes: Mou Hitori no Eiyuu Ou | Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
Genre: F/F, Mutual Pining, Pining, but there's hope for her i promise, fefemslash week day 3: blessing, mae has trouble with Feelings, so somewhat major spoilers for those who haven't gotten that far into the game yet, takes place between the beginning of act 2 and the end of act 3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-18
Updated: 2018-07-18
Packaged: 2019-06-12 08:02:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15335445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowysatoru/pseuds/snowysatoru
Summary: Along the journey that had them leave the priory in Novis, Mae spends some of her time figuring out her feelings for Celica. And realizing her true feelings for her closest friend is only just the beginning.





	sunlight

**Author's Note:**

> Written for FE Femslash Week Day 3: Blessing

For Mae, knowing and being best friends with Celica is a blessing in itself, and spending time with her was even more than that. If it wasn’t for Boey basically telling her to shut up and say she was just exaggerating and taking everything out of proportion—something she’s known to do more often than she’d like to admit—Mae could go on and on about wonderful Celica is and list many reasons as to why she thinks so. It would often lead to an eye roll from Boey, a giggle or two from Genny and Leon; maybe a simple shoulder shrug from Saber, too.

Most importantly, though, there was one reaction that would send Mae’s heart soaring like it was flying all across Valentia and felt more electrifying than any cast of her thunder magic: the most beautiful sound of a tiny, but heartwarming chuckle escaping Celica’s lips. After fighting zombies, pirates, bandits, and a necrodragon or two, Celica showing any sign of joy—especially if it doesn’t involve Alm—gives Mae just the motivation she needs to trudge through the journey towards the Temple of Mila.

Somewhere along the way, though, Mae was slowly realizing that the line that separated admiring her best friend and falling in love in her was becoming more difficult to tell apart.

When did this sudden revelation come about? Like she knew the answer to that. Hell, she doesn’t even think there is one, to be quite frank. If Mae _had_ to pinpoint a moment in time, the first thing that came to mind was the one conversation she had with Celica while visiting the Seabound Shrine; when she was confronted by her after defeating the necrodragon that was guarding the shrine.

_‘Mae, are you alright?’ Celica asked. ‘It’s not like you to… sigh so loudly like that.’_

_‘Sorry, Celica,’ Mae replied. ‘I… just have something on my mind at the moment.’_

_'Is there any way I can help?’ Celica offers, not wanting her best friend to look so glum._

' _I-It’s nothing important, I promise,’ Mae assures, the weak chuckle she lets out not doing a good job convincing Celica. ‘It’s just that… well…’_

_‘Hmmm?’_

_‘Well, it’s just… So do you think girls should be all proper, mature, gentle, and all that mushy junk?’_

_‘Why do you ask that, Mae?’_

_‘Just answer me, Celica!’_

_‘Well, personally,’ Celica answers. ‘I think there’s room for every girl to be herself, regardless if they’re in touch with their feminine side or not.’_

_‘Aw, you mean that?! Wait, but you’re really nice though, so of course you’d say something like that. You don’t count!’ Mae complains._

_‘I don’t...? Oh, enough of this nonsense, Mae. What’s your REAL problem?’ Celica retorts._

_‘My REAL problem?! Uhhh… So here’s the thing… ‘ Mae explains. ‘Let’s say that hypothetically—JUST hypothetically—there was someone I liked. Someone I was always close to, but... ‘_

_‘But “what”?’ Celica asks, noticing the slight hesitation in Mae’s voice._

_‘I’m not sure if they’d like me for who I am… ‘ Mae continues. ‘... WOULD they like the real me, though?’_

_‘I’m sure they would, Mae,’ Celica replies. ‘You’re an absolutely wonderful person. A person that’s so cheerful, kind, and you’re always encouraging your friends when they need it. I think you’re amazing just the way you are, Mae. Have more confidence in yourself!’_

_‘Aw, geez… Thanks, Celica! I feel a lot better now!’_

_‘Of course, Mae. I’m glad I could be of some help.’_

Every time Mae remembers that conversation, she feels her face grow just the tiniest bit warmer. Sure, she always feels giddy when she receives a compliment, but none of them had made her feel like her heart was going to skip a couple beats; yet here she was now, flustered over a few nice words that she only just remembered. She tries to push these feelings in the back of her mind. Celica had a mission to complete: Arrive the Temple of Mila and it was her priority to get there as soon as possible to find out what’s going on with the Mother herself. Of course, she wouldn’t have time for something as silly as romance, so what other choice did Mae have besides keeping some of her emotions bottled up like this?

_‘I know love can be a complicated thing, but you can’t keep these emotions to yourself forever, darling,’_ Mae remembers Leon telling her once. _‘That absolutely cannot be healthy for you.’_

Part of Mae's gut almost wishes that his words hadn't hit as close to the truth as they did.

 

~~~

 

Mae finds herself outside of the temple, stargazing once more, unable to find any solace in sleeping. She hasn’t been able to wrap her head around the fact that not only was Celica a princess, but she was also the long-lost Princess of Zofia at that. She knew that Celica—or rather, Anthiese—had something great in store for her, but a princess. It was all just a bit too much for Mae to take in. So here she was right now, wide awake the night before they venture into Rigel, continuing their investigation on what has happened to Mother Mila, after hearing that she was sealed away by the Emperor. Mae sits on the stairs outside the temple, resting her chin on her knees and looking up at the night sky, the stars shining almost as bright as the moon itself.

She’s so wrapped up in what’s running through her head that she doesn’t hear the footsteps coming down the stairs and sitting next to her.

“Mae?” A familiar voice speaks, snapping Mae out of her thoughts.

Startled, she turns around to see to who was speaking to her, seeing that it was none other than Celica herself, who took to sitting down next to Mae, the latter trying to ignore the sudden increase in speed of her heartbeat.

“Celica? What are you doing out here? Shouldn’t you be asleep?” Mae questions.

“I could be asking you the same thing myself, Mae,” Celica counters. “You know we leave very early tomorrow morning for Rigel, right?”

“I know… It’s just that I haven’t been able to sleep at all tonight…”

“Oh? Is there anything on your mind that’s keeping you up?”

“Well… Yes, but you’ll think it’s silly.”

“Oh come now, Mae. I know you better than that.”

“But it’s gonna sound so stupid once I tell you— ”

“ _Mae._ ”

“Alright FINE. I’ll tell you if it’ll make you happy!”

“Thank you.”

“I… I was thinking about how far we’ve come ever since we left the priory,” Mae confesses.

“How so?” Celica asks.

“It’s just… It’s just that I never thought it would escalate to something as much as this,” Mae explains. “When you, Boey, Genny and I left Novis, I thought it was going to be a simple pilgrimage. I wasn’t expecting to meet so many allies along the way. Hell, I wasn’t expecting you to be a long-lost princess, and look where we are now!”

“Mae…” Is all Celica could say.

“Mila must be _really_ pulling my strings or something because I can’t tell if this is a blessing or a curse!”

Celica sat there while she let her best friend ramble on and on about how she felt about the current predicament. Mae did have a point, though. She thought that this was going to be a small journey towards the Temple of Mila. Finding out that she was the long lost Princess of Zofia was the last thing she expected to happen. Suddenly, she feels a new weight being pressed onto her shoulders, and she isn’t sure if she is capable of what she’s being sent out to accomplish what fate was telling her to do.

“Well… If it helps you feel any better, Mae, I’m glad you’ve been here by my side the whole time we’ve been on this adventure.” Celica finally speaks.

“A-Are you being serious?” Mae stutters, praying to the gods that the dark of the night is enough to hide the rosy pink color painting her cheeks.

“One hundred percent,” Celica responds. “You’ve always known how to pick me up when I’m feeling down, and have been nothing but supportive all the way through, even when I’ve had my own doubts.”

“I-I… Didn’t think you felt that way, Celica— I mean... Anthiese.”

“You can still call me ‘Celica’, Mae. You know that, right?”

“I-I know but—”

“Mae,” Celica cuts her off, reaching out to place her one of her hands on top of Mae’s, and moving her face that the two girls are face-to-face with each other.

“I know you’re probably worrying about me being royalty is going to affect our relationship, but let me say this. Crown or no crown, I’m still the same Celica you’ve known all these years, and I can assure you that that’s not going to change anytime soon. It also doesn’t change that you’ll still be someone that I’ll hold dear to my heart, no matter the circumstances. You understand what I’m trying to say, right?” Celica finishes, one hand still on Mae’s and the other cupping her face.

The only response Mae could come up with was a simple nod, not trusting her tongue to spill out anything that wasn’t going to end up being stupid. What was a simple warmth turned into her face feeling like it was on fire, and her heart is beating so fast that she felt like it was going to break out of her ribcage; but it didn’t stop Mae from pulling Celica into a hug, taking in the feeling of embracing the one that she was closest to; the girl that she fell in love with. What she didn’t know was that Celica’s heart was beating almost equally as fast.

Neither girl knew what was in store for them once they leave the temple and set foot towards Rigel, but they both knew one thing was for certain. They would be there together throughout the whole ordeal as if they could take on anything. Like they could feel the warmth of the blessings given to them by the Goddess herself.


End file.
